Ambit Capital CEO Saurabh Mukherjea quits

Speculation is rife that Mukherjea’s resignation may be linked to his contrarian calls going awry.

Ashok Wadhwa rejected speculation that Mukherjea’s resignation was because he was unhappy with the price he was getting for his employee stock options.

Mumbai: Brokerage Ambit Capital’s chief executive officer Saurabh Mukherjea has resigned after an eight-year stint with the firm. Mukherjea, who has been known for his bold bearish predictions on the market in the bull run which began in 2014, may start a venture in the financial services sector.

Ambit Holdings’ Group CEO and founder Ashok Wadhwa confirmed the development and said Mukherjea is likely to leave the organisation between June and September.

Wadhwa said Mukherjea’s exit from the firm was ‘amicable’. But speculation is rife that Mukherjea’s resignation may be linked to his contrarian calls going awry.

Ambit, under Mukherjea, had predicted a fall in the Sensex to 22,000 levels in 2016 but the index went on to scale 29,000 during the year.

Ambit had also slashed GDP growth estimate for FY17 to 3.5 per cent from 6.8 per cent after demonetisation. Ambit had released a confession note of sorts to clients in November 2017, saying that they had overestimated the impact of demonetisation and detailed stocks on which it had a ‘sell’ rating, but had gone on to perform well.

Wadhwa defended Mukherjea’s market predictions. “No analyst guarantees any positive outcome. The research that Ambit Capital has put out under Saurabh’s leadership was always based on well-researched facts, there was conviction of what they were writing and honesty in how they communicated it,” said Wadhwa. “Good research does not necessarily bother about whether the calls are always right or not right.”

Wadhwa also rejected speculation that Mukherjea’s resignation was because he was unhappy with the price he was getting for his employee stock options. The market is agog with rumours that Ambit is looking to sell a majority stake to Japanese investment bank Daiwa. However, Wadhwa denied being in talks to sell out the business.

“We have a strategic alliance with Daiwa...there is no consultation ongoing with Daiwa for any equity ownership,” said Wadhwa.

On a fully diluted basis, the Qatari royal family owns 26 per cent in Ambit (via investment banking firm QInvest) while Ashok Wadhwa holds 58 per cent, and employees own 16 per cent stake.

“Whenever the Qatari family exits, I have a right to buy them out. I will exercise that buyout whenever they wish to exit,” said Wadhwa.

Mukherjea told ET that he is not taking his team at Ambit along with him.